Immigration Debate

So my brother over at Political and Philosophic Ponderings poses an interesting question: Are Latin American Immigrants Liberal or Conservative? He points out that morally speaking, they align more with conservative thought. But the Republican Party doesn’t appear to realize this huge potential voting resource. Instead, they ostracize them because they can’t look past the legal aspects.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t condone illegal immigration, but I do condone the changing of the laws. There are far too few opportunities for immigration into the United States. But I also agree with strengthening our borders. For homeland security sake as well as illegal immigration. We need to stop the illegal things happening at the border.

So some might say that I just contradicted myself. In this debate, perhaps so, because the different sides are (as usual) polarized. But there is middle ground here. Here’s my proposal (and I don’t back this up with any hard numbers or facts, just general ideas):

1. Strengthen the borders. We need to enforce the laws we do have. It’s a moral obligation as well as an obligation to security.
2. Change the immigration laws to allow more immigration. There are many reasons for this, but in this debate, it comes down to allowing people to pursue opportunities to make their lives better. If you were in their situation, you would want the same for yourself and your family.
3. Embrace the differences. Far too often in our mixing pot of American, we see racism. Which is crazy! How a country which was built on the backs of many different cultures ever shows the ugly head of racism is beyond me.